Europe's Place in the Global History of Biological Exchange

This paper provides a framework for the European history of biological exchange and biological invasion. It distinguishes four main eras of heightened biological exchange. The first came with the introduction to Europe of the neolithic complex of domesticated plants and animals. The second was associated with the increased trade and travel of the pax romana. The third came with increased connections to Asia and the Indian Ocean world in the era of the Crusades. The fourth, well-known to historians, followed from the oceanic navigations of European mariners beginning in the fifteenth century. In all but the last of these, Europe imported far more than it exported in terms of useful species, and most of those exported were earlier imports, mainly from southwest or south Asia.     

Meddling with Medusa: on genetic manipulation, art and animals

Turning animals into art through genetic manipulation poses many questions for how we think about our relationship with other species. Here, I explore three rather disparate sets of issues. First, I ask to what extent the production of such living “artforms” really is as transgressive as advocates claim. Whether or not it counts as radical in terms of art I cannot say: but it is not at all radical, I argue, in terms of how we think about our human place in the world. On the contrary, producing these animals only reinforces our own sense of our importance. The second theme I explore is the extent to which making transgenic organisms for any purposes is radical in terms of complexity. Here, I focus on the idea of complexity as a concept in developmental biology; genetic manipulation may be successful to commercial companies, but it is deeply troubling to many biologists who consider that its deeply entrenched reductionism is enormously problematic. What risks do we run by ignoring nature’s own complexity—and creativity? And—in particular—what risks do we run of damaging or compromising animal welfare? The third theme turns to public perceptions of these new technologies (whether in science or art), and notes the extent of public unease. This unease is not simply a question of public ignorance about the technology, but reflects the enormously rich ways in which we make meanings about animals, and relate to them. These are, I suggest, a far more potent source of creativity than simply moving genes around to make photogenic animals.     

Simple Expert System for Evaluation of Nutrient Pollution Potential in Groundwater from Manure Application

An expert system for the evaluation of groundwater pollution potential due to leaching of nutrients from land application of manure is developed in this study. The expert system consists of five modules: surface loading, sorption, vadose zone transport, saturated zone transport, and final module. The expert system evaluates the pollution potential in two steps. In the first step, rating values are evaluated for the selected modules. A set of expert system rules is assigned by the writers to evaluate the rating value of each selected module. In the second step, the pollution potential is evaluated from calculating the weighted average rating of the selected modules. Finally, the expert system is validated against a site assessment done by a group of experts for a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) facility in Oklahoma. The advantages of the expert system are its user-friendliness, requirement of easily available input data, and faster evaluation time. The expert system is recommended to the farmers for improving their management practices and for selecting sites suitable for building new CAFOs. It is also recommended to the regulatory agencies as a screening level tool to identify the most vulnerable sites.     

大豆异黄酮内分泌干扰毒性研究进展

大豆异黄酮在食品工业中广泛应用,作为暴露量最大的植物雌激素,其内分泌干扰毒性受到了广泛关注。本文从大豆异黄酮对雌性动物和雄性动物影响的角度进行分析,全面综述了大豆异黄酮对未成年和成年动物的内分泌干扰毒性特点,以及人群流行病学研究资料。     

改善更年期综合征保健食品功能评价的实验研究

为建立改善更年期综合征保健食品功能评价方法， 将保健食品分别经口给予摘除卵巢成熟小鼠，无生育能力的老年小鼠幼年小鼠30d后测定性激素和性器官变化，结果显示高剂量组（30倍人体推荐剂量）的小鼠呈现血清雌二醇浓度和子宫重量及水摄取增加百分率显著提高，阴道雌激素作用增强，上皮角化细胞增多等现象，尤以老年鼠反应比去去势鼠及幼年鼠更灵敏。结果表明血清雌二醇含量，子宫重量及水摄取增加百分率，阴道雌激素作用水平上皮角化细胞数量等观察指标和老年鼠模型可作为评价改善更年期综合征保健食品功能之用。     

血栓显像剂99mTc-SZ-51药盒的制备及对犬肺栓塞模型的显像研究

研究99mTc标记抗人P -选择素 (P -Selectin)单克隆抗体SZ - 5 1血栓显像药盒的制备方法 ,并观察其在检测肺栓塞及鉴别新鲜和陈旧肺栓塞中的作用。用 2 -亚氨基噻吩盐酸盐 (2 -IT)修饰SZ - 5 1。用99mTc-GH转换络合标记法标记IT -SZ - 5 1。分别用快速薄层层析法、酶联免疫吸附法 (ELISA)测定标记物的标记率及生物活性。单抗SZ - 5 1以最佳标记条件制备体内血栓显像药盒 ,对 8只犬肺栓塞模型进行了放射免疫显像。结果表明 ,单抗SZ - 5 1用最佳 2 -IT比例修饰后 ,快速薄层层析法测得标记率为 90 %— 95 %,ELISA表明抗体保留了免疫活性。注入显像剂99mTcSZ - 5 11h后血栓部位开始显影并 3h内逐渐清晰。注射后 3h ,在体显像及离体显像两者的放射性比值分别为 5 .3± 0 .5和 7.0± 1.2 ,形成 1天的新鲜血栓的放射性摄取明显高于形成一周的血栓 ,离体组织测定两者比值达 2 .6 5。     

中国保健食品动植物原料使用现状

目的研究1996-2005年间我国保健食品动植物原料使用情况。方法对1996-2005年间通过审批的保健食品信息逐一审查,建立保健食品原料数据库。结果保健食品动植物原料品种繁多,其中以我国传统药用植物用途最为广泛,人参、黄芪等常见中草药的使用较多,个别种类尚未得到开发利用。结论我国1996-2005年间,保健食品中动植物原料的使用总体受我国相关法规约束,一些原料的应用比较集中,尤其是中草药原料,还有更多原料品种需要研究开发应用。     

Leonardo’s choice: the ethics of artists working with genetic technologies

Working with current methodologies of art, biology, and genetic technologies, the stated aims of artists working in this area include attempts both to critique the implications and outcomes of genetic technologies and to forge a new art practice involved in creating living beings using those technologies. It is this last ambition, the development of a new art practice involved in creating living beings, that this essay will particularly take to task by questioning the ethics of that goal and the uses of biotechnology in reaching it.

Habitat Dioramas and the Issue of Nativeness

Habitat dioramas are museum exhibits of stuffed animals set in an imitation of their natural environment. Below the surface of the diorama's illusionistic naturalness, socio-political agendas can be identified. The focus of this article is on the Biological Museum in Stockholm, with its spectacular array of Nordic landscape reconstructions, and I argue that it constituted an archetypal example of the instrumentalization of the diorama exhibit for nationalistic purposes. Exclusively shown were landscapes of territories to which Sweden laid hegemonic claims, and the exhibited animals were turned into Swedish species, making them part of a common cultural and national tradition. Museums in other European countries also constructed dioramas that imparted to the museum visitors the unspoken message that animals are not merely distributed according to zoogeographical provinces, but can be thought of as naturally belonging to national territories. Thus the notion of biological nativeness became invested with political meaning.     

猕猴桃果汁对染铅小鼠驱铅效果观察

为观察猕猴桃果汁对染铅小鼠体内铅含量的影响,选用60只18～22g体重的昆明种雄性小鼠分为3个试验组、1个模型对照组和1个空白对照组进行实验观察.低、中、高剂量组和模型对照组小鼠自由饮用pb2 浓度为546.2 mg/L的水溶液,低、中、高剂量样品组分别灌胃给予10.0、20.0、40.0ml/kg BW剂量的受试液,模型对照组灌胃去离子水,空白对照组饮用、灌胃去离子水.实验期间记录饮用水量,连续30 d后,采血,取肝、股骨,用原子吸收分光光度法测定铅含量.结果发现,染铅各组铅摄入剂量相当,3个试验组小鼠全血铅和肝组织铅水平显著低于模型对照组,各剂量对小鼠股骨铅含量无明显影响.提示猕猴桃果汁具有促进排铅作用.